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Opinion
Saturday August 7, 2021. Eden Park, Auckland.
Bledisloe Test 1 of 3. Sixty-fifth minute.
Richie Mo’unga attempts a sideline conversion after Damian McKenzie scored in the corner to make the score 33-8 to New Zealand. The conversion, into the strong wind, slides across the face of the posts.
Mo’unga’s night is over. His job is done. He leaves the field and is replaced by Beauden Barrett.
The Wallabies appear crushed.
What follows is arguably one of the, if not the most dominant periods of play in Test rugby history. The final 18 minutes and 31 seconds of play sees the Wallabies score 17 unanswered points against their much-vaunted opponents.
Of great concern to Ian Foster, his team, and the New Zealand rugby public would be that in the final 1111 seconds of the Test match – New Zealand has possession of the ball in play for a total of 29 seconds, or 2.6 per cent of the time after scoring their fourth and final try.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Less than 30 seconds from over 18 minutes.
The Wallabies effectively have the ball for the entire remainder of the Test. Can anybody recall a similar scenario in a Tier One Test match where one team had 97 per possession over almost a quarter of a game?
Even more alarming is the fact that during the 12 possessions that I counted during ‘the 29 seconds’, two were throw-ins to New Zealand’s two line-outs (one of which saw them penalised immediately when David Havili was called offside), one was a scrum feed (with Australia winning a penalty two seconds later), and three were kicks (two into touch by BB and one upfield by Brad Weber).
Only two involved actual carries (Patrick Tuipulotu and Akira Ioane).
Prior to McKenzie scoring, the penalty count was 11-8 to the Wallabies. In the last 18 minutes, the All Blacks conceded seven penalties while winning only one.
The Wallabies had seven advantage calls by the referee in this period also. No yellow cards were awarded.
The match stats indicate New Zealand threw 119 passes in the match, compared to 123 for the Wallabies.
Only three of these (Smith, McKenzie, Weber) were thrown in the last 18 minutes!
In the same time period, the Wallabies had 117 involvements/possessions, six lineouts, three mauls, 18 rucks, seven advantages, and seven penalties.
The busiest Wallaby in the 18-minute blitz was Jake Gordon with 21 involvements, with Noah Lolesio (15), Jordan Uelese (11) and Tom Banks (11) also heavily involved.
No fewer than six other players (Michael Hooper, Tate McDermott, Harry Wilson, Matt Philip, Matt To’omua, Fraser McReight) had five or more involvements.
From totally dominated to total domination in 18 minutes.
The questions that must be asked: did Australia suddenly play that much better or did New Zealand suddenly switch off?
Was the Australian bench that much better than the New Zealand bench?
Did the referee suddenly start or stop refereeing both teams?
Is Richie Mo’unga that important to the All Blacks?
Is this all a psychological ploy to lull Australia into a false sense of security for next weekend?
Can Australia pick up where they left off in Bledisloe 2?
Will this weekend’s bench players see more or less game time next weekend for their respective teams?
Needless to say, both teams and selectors have plenty to ponder in the week ahead.
Bring on Game 2.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.